Zoom
Active Member
I bet it's the salt and the gravel, the gravel certainly wears the paint down. That said, it seemed like the lines used to last longer, maybe they're using cheaper paint, or some thing more environmentally friendly?
|
|
|
Urban Development and Proposals Discussion
- Thread starter Surrealplaces
- Start date
gsunnyg
Senior Member
You guys are probably be right but from what I remember the paint on the roads in the GTA are still no where near as bad as Calgary, there are so many heavy traffic intersections in Calgary that have almost no paint left, I'm sure they'll be fixed up this season but still it should never get to that point. Heres an image I found on street view casually near my area on google street view; https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.1104...ZYiM1mqliUWydQOLolQw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en
https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.1104...c-cxclYTlsRVf5kTEgtQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en
Ones from October 2016 and the other is from May 2017
Either that must be a pic error by google which I highly doubt judging by the variation in vegetation between October and May, or we seriously got snake oiled by the city. Its kind of shocking how the lines have practically disappeared over 1 winter. And I've noticed too for the last few years or so road maintenance has seriously lagged behind, maybe it has to do with the downturn but the city definitely gets a F for not keeping up.
https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.1104...c-cxclYTlsRVf5kTEgtQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en
Ones from October 2016 and the other is from May 2017
Either that must be a pic error by google which I highly doubt judging by the variation in vegetation between October and May, or we seriously got snake oiled by the city. Its kind of shocking how the lines have practically disappeared over 1 winter. And I've noticed too for the last few years or so road maintenance has seriously lagged behind, maybe it has to do with the downturn but the city definitely gets a F for not keeping up.
The Familia
Senior Member
I find the street sweeping to be mediocre at best in this city. My culdesac was done pretty good, but the main roads and medians are terrible. They better go back and do a follow through because the amount of debris left behind or missed altogether is pathetic.
DougB
Senior Member
It's more the freeze thaw cycles and gravel than road salt. Calgary probably experiences for freeze-thaw than practically any other location in the world.
Silence&Motion
Senior Member
I figured it was some combination of the gravel and the type of paint. Toronto uses way more salt than Calgary and it, like pretty much every Canadian city, has several freeze/thaw cycles over the course of the winter.
I've noticed that the road paint that Toronto uses is thick and almost rubbery. When it wears down, it doesn't "rub out" the way Calgary's paint does. Rather, it seems to rip and peel off at the edges. You can see the difference between two damaged left turn arrows in Calgary and in Toronto.
As an aside, the best road paint I've ever seen was in Tokyo. When I was there I had this unshakable feeling that the whole city was made out of Lego. It took me a while to realize it was mostly because of how pristine and carefully drawn the road paint was.
In terms of street sweeping and plowing, Calgary's definitely way behind other Canadian cities. There's still an attitude that this is just a small "prairie town" where we don't need to invest in things like a "public realm" - all you need is a pick-up truck to navigate those dusty (and in some cases unpaved) roads.
I've noticed that the road paint that Toronto uses is thick and almost rubbery. When it wears down, it doesn't "rub out" the way Calgary's paint does. Rather, it seems to rip and peel off at the edges. You can see the difference between two damaged left turn arrows in Calgary and in Toronto.
As an aside, the best road paint I've ever seen was in Tokyo. When I was there I had this unshakable feeling that the whole city was made out of Lego. It took me a while to realize it was mostly because of how pristine and carefully drawn the road paint was.
In terms of street sweeping and plowing, Calgary's definitely way behind other Canadian cities. There's still an attitude that this is just a small "prairie town" where we don't need to invest in things like a "public realm" - all you need is a pick-up truck to navigate those dusty (and in some cases unpaved) roads.
The Familia
Senior Member
There must be a better way to clean the gravel than these trucks with the brooms attached. Isn't there some giant high powered vacuum truck that can suck up every pebble and all the dust/sand? I wish they would invent some type of eco friendly spray that would melt the ice but not damage roads/plants like salt does. Then they could ban gravel for good!
Golfing guy
Active Member
The issues road marking in Calgary comes down to regular paint (low VOC paint) versus using durable products. For years calgary used oil based paints that lasted longer than the curently used low VOC paint.
For most of the painting season durable Epoxy can be used to stripe the roads. It is mostly
used on major roadways and most newly resurfaced roads. The issue with this product is that it is slow labour heavy procedure. The truck that applies it goes at a much slower speed that the regular paint truck. It requires many more workers to complete the process. It has to coned so the lines aren’t driven over while it cures. The final product is much longer lasting than regular paint. It will last a couple of seasons compared to a much shorter time with paint. The season for applying it is much shorter due to curing times and not all roads can be done.
Other durable products you might see in other warmer cities around the world are much thicker. They don’t hold up well during the winters in Calgary. The salt, gravel and Snow plows will remove it quickly
Durable, (of course more costly)products are going to be used.
For most of the painting season durable Epoxy can be used to stripe the roads. It is mostly
used on major roadways and most newly resurfaced roads. The issue with this product is that it is slow labour heavy procedure. The truck that applies it goes at a much slower speed that the regular paint truck. It requires many more workers to complete the process. It has to coned so the lines aren’t driven over while it cures. The final product is much longer lasting than regular paint. It will last a couple of seasons compared to a much shorter time with paint. The season for applying it is much shorter due to curing times and not all roads can be done.
Other durable products you might see in other warmer cities around the world are much thicker. They don’t hold up well during the winters in Calgary. The salt, gravel and Snow plows will remove it quickly
Durable, (of course more costly)products are going to be used.
GoVertical
Senior Member
UrbanWarrior
Senior Member
The demolition was mentioned a couple weeks ago, I don't recall anyone mentioning future plans for it though.
GoVertical
Senior Member
Fair enough, I was wondering if anything was concrete yet.
kora
Active Member
"People who live in small towns are happier than everyone else" .... I wonder how we can build cities better to solve this problem.
"A team of happiness researchers at the University of British Columbia and McGill University has published a working paper on the geography of well-being in Canada ..... the researcher’s chief finding is that a striking association between population density and happiness ...... people in cities often have fewer social connections nearby, and feel less connected to their communities than people in rural areas."
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada...ppier-than-everyone-else-researchers-say.html
"A team of happiness researchers at the University of British Columbia and McGill University has published a working paper on the geography of well-being in Canada ..... the researcher’s chief finding is that a striking association between population density and happiness ...... people in cities often have fewer social connections nearby, and feel less connected to their communities than people in rural areas."
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada...ppier-than-everyone-else-researchers-say.html
Cowtown
Senior Member
Interesting results, but not too surprising. I love living in the city, and that's my type of lifestyle, but I do know people who live in towns, and they seem happy. There's a slower pace of living and some good social connections for many, but many people also leave small towns because they feel suffocated or bored. I'm not trying to insult anyone here, but I believe that people who are well travelled with more education and creativity are more likely to thrive in a city.
maestro
Senior Member
They are drawing conclusions on results that are entirely opinion based. I can do the same. The lower scores in urban areas are from high expectations resulting in a more critical response. It doesn't mean those in urban areas are less satisfied. We all have are own scales when it comes to our polls too. It also doesn't separate autocentric dominated urbanity from dense, walkable communities. I'd rather be in a small town if I'm driving everywhere.
AccUnit
Active Member
Cowtown
Senior Member
I agree. Lots of variables in a poll like that.